Explosives found in wreckage of Russian plane

Traces of the explosive hexogen have been found in the wreckage of one of the two Russian passenger jets that crashed minutes apart on Tuesday, Russian security services have revealed.

A spokesman from the FSB (federal security agents) announced the find on Friday, a day after a top Russian official stated that terrorism was the most likely explanation behind the tragedy that killed all 89 people onboard the two Tupolov-make aircraft.

However, reports over details of the tragedy have been contradictory, with some sections of the Russian media accusing the government of not declaring all the facts. A link to the troubled state of Chechnya is suspected, but an Islamic group claimed responsibility on Friday.

Hexogen, also known as RDX or cyclonite, is a ring-shaped, stable chemical that only becomes explosive with the assistance of a detonator. It was widely used during World War II, where it was mixed with TNT, and is now a common constituent of plastic explosives such as Semtex. It was used in the four Moscow apartment bombings that killed more than 200 people in 1999.

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“Molecules of hexogen are easy to detect because they stick to clothing, skin and hair. Once somebody has handled it the evidence remains on their hands, even after they have washed them. And residues of the explosive containing hexogen have clearly been found among the shattered fuselage of the planes,” says Chris Yates, an aviation security expert from Jane’s Airport Review.

Starburst shape

Russian aviation officials have confirmed that one of the planes, a Sibir Tu-154 with 46 people aboard, sent out a hijack-alert moments before it crashed. The plane was heading for the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin was holidaying.

“The likeliest scenario is that someone boarded the plane wearing a suicide belt containing a plastic-type explosive. Presumably there was some altercation on the plane when the bomber was about to set the bomb off, during which time the pilot sent out a hijack SOS, and then there was an explosion,” Yates suggests.

The first effect of this would have been a hole in the fuselage, followed by decompression that would have caused everything loose in the cabin to be sucked out, he explains. “The tell-tale sign of an explosion is a starburst shape of shattered metal fuselage folding outwards, which would have traces of explosive on it.”

The two aircraft had taken off from Domodedovo airport in Moscow, 40 minutes apart, and crashed around 23&colon;00 that evening – one over Tula, and the other, 800 kilometres away at Rostov-on-Don. People on the ground at Tula report hearing a series of explosions before the Volga-Aviaexpress Tu-134, heading for Volgograd, hit the ground.

Aviation and security experts at the crash sites have said that the cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders on both planes appeared to have been abruptly shut-off, indicating an explosion-caused electrical failure.

Presidential election

Devices do exist to check passengers and their baggage for explosives, and these are increasing in sophistication. Currently, most airports, including those in Russia, possess highly accurate hand-held gas-chromatography equipment. Check-in staff take samples from suspicious bags for analysis by the machine which can detect extremely low concentrations of hexogen and other explosives.

Hexogen is produced by only two factories in Russia, both of which are guarded by the FSB. An Islamic group calling themselves the Islambouli Brigades claimed responsibility for the crashes in a web-statement on Friday.

There was a Chechen passenger on each of the planes and one, a 27-year-old female whose body has yet to be found, bought her ticket within one hour of the plane’s take-off. The crashes come just days before a presidential election to replace an assassinated leader, in war-torn Chechnya.